Conventionally, a printer driver has been known which causes display of a setting screen for setting print conditions in printing with a printer. On the setting screen, a user selects a desired print function from among a plurality of print functions and specifies specific conditions for the selected print function.
In recent years, with the trend toward more and more functions of a printer; types of print functions have increased. This requires the setting screen to include buttons and the like with which specific conditions for these multiple print functions are inputted. For example, the print functions are hierarchized, and only buttons corresponding to higher-level print functions are arranged on the setting screen. Then, buttons corresponding to lower-level print functions are displayed in response to a click on a button corresponding to a higher-level print function.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 352844/1999 (Tokukaihei 11-352844; published on Dec. 24, 1999) discloses a technique of displaying a setting screen of a hierarchy menu.
However, hierarchization of the print functions makes it difficult for the user to visually identify all the available icons. Particularly, a beginning user cannot recognize what kind of available functions exist.
It is to be noted that Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 352844/1999 (Tokukaihei 11-352844; published on Dec. 24, 1999) also describes that a list of available functions included in an image forming apparatus is displayed. However, the list is organized by group of functions, such as a sorting function, a double-sided copy function, and a cardboard copy function. This requires the user to recognize which kind of function belongs to which group, which imposes inconvenience for the user.
In view of this, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 282415/2001 (Tokukai 2001-282415; published on Oct. 12, 2001) discloses a technique of (i) fixedly displaying a pointer at a predetermined position of a display screen and (ii) sequentially displaying a plurality of icons moving in a predetermined direction so that the icons pass through the predetermined position. The user selects a desired icon by the point when the desired icon is displayed at the predetermined position. Thus, all the icons are sequentially displayed, which allows the user to visually identify all the icons.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 102277/1999 (Tokukaihei 11-102277; published on Apr. 13, 1999) discloses a technique of displaying on a screen a polygon with one icon for each side and rotating the polygon by 90 degrees by an operation of a pointing device to sequentially display icons placed on the sides of the polygon. With this arrangement, the user can visually identify all the icons by rotating the polygon.
An arrangement in which the icons are sequentially displayed as in the conventional art ensures the user to visually identify all the icons. This is convenient to beginning users who do not recognize functions represented by the icons.
However, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 282415/2001 (Tokukai 2001-282415; published on Oct. 12, 2001), all the icons are sequentially displayed. This requires the user to wait until a desired icon appears. In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 102277/1999 (Tokukaihei 11-102277; published on Apr. 13, 1999), the user needs to operate the pointing device until a desired icon appears, which takes much time. This is inconvenient to a user who is thoroughly familiar with functions and information represented by the icons and wishes a desired icon to be displayed quickly.